"For too long, our jails and prisons have been thought of as sealed institutions, where all problems – and all dangers – are contained. But that is clearly not the case. Health care is a powerful example of how issues that are unresolved – and, too often, exacerbated – in the corrections setting can lead to public health and public safety risks," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer Paulo Morales, 47, of Miami, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to three civil rights offenses for sexually groping three women in his custody.

"As we work to help keep our children safe, we cannot view youth violence and violence against women as separate and distinct, but, instead, as intertwined. To realize our vision for safe and healthy communities, we must start with safe and healthy homes," said Acting Director Hanson.

A bail bondsman in Portsmouth, Va., pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Virginia for bribing public officials in exchange for receiving favorable treatment.

U.S. Attorney’s offices across the nation are partnering with the Civil Rights Division to target their enforcement efforts on a critical area for individuals with disabilities through a new Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, the Justice Department announced today. The announcement comes on the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed on July 26, 1990. Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez announced the new initiative today at an event celebrating the anniversary of the ADA in Washington, D.C.

Former Milwaukee Police Officer Ladmarald Cates was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller to 24 years in prison.

"You’ve already shown that leadership is a quality available in abundance in tribal communities. The future clearly is in good hands. Thank you for everything you’re doing for your communities, and keep up the good work," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

David Hausman, an antiques dealer in Manhattan, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to obstruction of justice and creating false records, in relation to illegal rhinoceros horn trafficking.

"Providing information, strengthening police-community relationships, and protecting officers – these are all ways the Office of Justice Programs is working to support law enforcement," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

A Chicago police officer and three members of the Almighty Latin Kings Nation pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy and other related charges in a superseding indictment involving alleged members or associates of the Latin Kings, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David Capp of the Northern District of Indiana.

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"The message we’re sending is that youth violence is not inevitable. When communities engage partners across disciplines and use a data-driven, balanced approach – one that emphasizes prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry – they can reduce violence and improve outcomes for our youth," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

Darren Douglass-Griffin, 35, a former member of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison (MSP) in Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty to a two-count bill of information charging him with conspiracy to violate the civil rights of inmates and falsification of records in a federal investigation, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced today.

Jessie Alan Fuller, 25, of Pensacola, Fla., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins to 37 months in prison and two years supervised release, the Justice Department announced. Fuller pleaded guilty on April 26, 2012, to one count of conspiracy against rights, a felony, and one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, a misdemeanor. These charges stemmed from Fuller’s stealing money and property from motorists on Interstate 65 in central Alabama while he was a police officer with the Fort Deposit Police Department.

3M Co. abandoned its plan to acquire Avery Dennison Corp.’s Office and Consumer Products Group, its closest competitor in the sale of adhesive-backed labels and sticky notes, after the Department of Justice informed the companies that it would file a civil antitrust lawsuit to block the deal.

Rafael Joaquin Beltre-Beltre, 35, formerly of Caguas, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and one count of international money laundering.

Laura Pendergest-Holt, 39, the former chief investment officer of Houston-based Stanford Financial Group, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for her role in obstructing a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into Stanford International Bank (SIB), the Antiguan offshore bank owned by convicted financier Robert Allen Stanford.

Three defendants pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy, smuggling, Lacey Act violations, money laundering and tax fraud for their roles in the international illegal trafficking of rhinoceros horn. All of the defendants were charged in February 2012 as part of “Operation Crash,” a nationwide U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crackdown on those involved in the black market trade of endangered rhinoceros horn.

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department announced today its findings that the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) in North Carolina, under the leadership of Sheriff Terry S. Johnson, engages in a pattern or practice of misconduct that violates the Constitution and federal law. The department conducted its investigation, which it opened on June 2, 2010, pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI).

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement today on the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General’s report on Operation Fast and Furious.

"There’s still much more we need to do, and it’s incumbent on all of us in the field – and throughout the justice system – to work together to meet the challenges that we – and all victims – continue to face," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

Song Ja Cha, 70, a bar owner in Guam, was sentenced to life in prison today for her involvement in a sex trafficking scheme to force young women and one juvenile girl into prostitution, the Department of Justice announced. Cha was also ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to the victims in this case as well as a $10,000 fine.

A Virginia man pleaded guilty today in federal court to selling counterfeit General Motors automotive diagnostic devices used by mechanics to identify problems with and assure the safety of motor vehicles.

Narcotics trafficker Edison Burgos-Montes of Yauco, Puerto Rico, faces life in prison following his conviction on two capital murder counts

Roger J. Kiley, 42, of Miami, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Ursula Mancusi Ungaro in Miami to a criminal information charging him with one count of false personation and one count of making a false statement.

Federal and tribal officials joined together in Tulsa, Okla., today in commemorating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month at opening ceremonies before the department’s annual tribal consultation on Violence Against Native Women, held this year in Tulsa.

Attorney General Eric Holder, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod Rosenstein, and Bureau of Justice Assistance Deputy Director, Kristen Mahoney, today announced more than $2.4 million in grants to 13 jurisdictions to combat the purchase and sale of counterfeit and pirated products. Intellectual Property theft refers to the violation of criminal laws that protect copyrights, patents, trademarks, other forms of intellectual property and trade secrets, both in the United States and abroad.

Demetrio Juan Gonzales, 40, a former corrections officer at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today to one count of violating the civil rights of an individual in his custody when he struck and choked the victim in the shower room/dress out area of MDC.

Paulo Morales, 48, of Miami, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum to 33 months in prison along with one year supervised release, the Justice Department announced. In July, Morales, a former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.

Arizona State Representative Paul Ben Arredondo pleaded guilty today in Phoenix federal court, admitting that he solicited and took a bribe in exchange for promises of official action both as a city councilmember and a state representative.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer, his girlfriend and an associate have been charged in Brownsville, Texas, for engaging in a multi-year bribery and alien smuggling operation along the U.S./Mexico.

"Several years ago, our Office for Victims of Crime funded the Clery Center to develop a training curriculum for university administrators and law enforcement executives about the requirements of the Clery Act. The Center continues to deliver the training throughout the country," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

The Justice Department announced today that former Bryan County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Kevin Bennett Holt, 48, from Achille, Okla., was sentenced to 18 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, followed by 24 months of supervised release, for using a Taser to assault a detainee inside of the Bryan County Jail in Durant, Okla., in violation of the victim’s civil rights.

Ramiro Anturi Larrahondo, 55, a Colombian national, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing and intending that the cocaine would be illegally imported into the United States.

Police of Puerto Rico Lieutenant Erick Rivera Nazario and Officer Jimmy Rodriguez Vega were indicted on civil rights charges alleging that they used excessive force on two men, the Justice Department announced today. Nazario and Vega allegedly violated the constitutional rights of Jose Irizarry Perez and his father Jose Irizarry Muniz while the two were celebrating the local election results at the Las Colinas housing development in Yauco, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 5, 2008. Rivera was also indicted for making false declarations before the federal grand jury during its investigation into the civil rights violations.

Manssor Arbabsiar, aka Mansour Arbabsiar, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the Southern District of New York to participating in a plot to murder the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States while the Ambassador was in the United States.

Two former officers of Arizona-based residential mortgage loan originator American Mortgage Specialists Inc. (AMS) pleaded guilty today for their roles in a $27 million scheme to defraud North Dakota-based BNC National Bank.

Sylvester Bruce, 45, a former corrections officer with Navajo Nation’s Shiprock Detention Center (SDC) in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court on charges related to the sexual abuse of an inmate during the summer and fall of 2010. In July 2012, Bruce pleaded guilty to one count of violating the victim’s civil rights when he touched her breasts against her will. Bruce also pleaded guilty to making material false statements to the FBI when he denied taking pictures of inmates inside the cells of the SDC.

Emmett McKenzie, 31, from Montezuma, Ga., formerly a sergeant at Macon State Prison in Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty to conspiring with other correctional officers to violate the civil rights of an inmate in 2010, the Justice Department Announced today. McKenzie, who most recently served as a lieutenant at Dooly State Prison in Unadilla, Ga., is the third officer to plead guilty in the course of the ongoing federal investigation.

A former Texas state parole officer was arrested today in Dallas on charges of engaging in a bribery scheme involving one of her assigned parolees.

Katiran Lee, 39, an Indonesian national who allegedly sold the counterfeit goods while he was living in Duluth, Ga., was charged with two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The Department of Justice, the FBI and the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) remind the public there is a potential for disaster fraud in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Suspected fraudulent activity pertaining to relief efforts associated with Hurricane Sandy should be reported to the toll-free NCDF hotline at 866-720-5721.

A bail bondsman in Portsmouth, Va., was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for bribing public officials in exchange for receiving favorable treatment, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride.

Lawrence Etsitty , 31, a former police officer with the Navajo Police Department (NPD), was sentenced today in federal court on charges related to the sexual abuse of a woman who was in his custody on Jan. 25, 2009. Earlier this year, Etsitty pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of the victim when he groped, touched and kissed her against her will, while she was handcuffed. Etsitty also was charged and pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI.

Anthony Mangione, 52, of Parkland, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Robroy MacInnes, 54, of Fort Myers, Fla., Robert Keszey, 47, of Bushnell, Fla., and Glades Herp Farm Inc., were charged in a two-count indictment today in federal court in Philadelphia.

A federal judge sentenced Spokane, Wash., Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. to 51 months in prison followed by three years supervised release for civil rights and obstruction violations stemming from his March 18, 2006, beating of an unarmed citizen and an extensive cover-up that followed, the Justice Department announced today. Following a Taser deployment and a rapid series of baton blows to the head, neck and body, the victim, the late Otto Zehm, 36, was hogtied, stopped breathing and was transported to the hospital, where he died two days later. The defendant claimed the beating was justified because he felt threatened by a plastic bottle of soda Zehm was holding.

Yamil Navedo Ramirez, 39, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Juan M. Perez-Gimenez in the District of Puerto Rico.

Morton Plant Mease Health Care Inc. and its affiliated hospitals (Morton Plant) have agreed to pay $10,169,114 to the federal government to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for services rendered to Medicare patients, the Justice Department announced today. Morton Plant owns and operates, or is affiliated with, Morton Plant Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, St. Anthony’s Hospital, Mease Countryside Hospital and Mease Dunedin Hospital. These hospitals are part of the BayCare Health System in Florida’s Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

Jose Sergio Garcia-Ramirez, 37, formerly of Rockford, Ill., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí, in the District of Puerto Rico.